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• New car for mother. 3 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  Reliability is an important criterion for the new vehicle as it will be required every weekday without fail, so no Renaults. I have a little knowledge of the cars available in this price bracket, but dont know much about automatics- which cars should i look for? I initially thought focus 1.6 auto, but then worried about lack of performance.
• Big Brother?s Garage - The Winner is.... 28 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  This decision *hopefully* won't make ND too smug. Here is a reminder of the results in reverse order:- 13th - Renault 5, (prematurely evicted for instigating a riot.) 12th - Vauxhall Vectra. 11th - Lada Samara. 11th - VW Golf. 9th - Austin Allegro. 8th - Perodua Nippa. 7th - Toyota Landcruiser. 6th - Citroen 2CV. 5th - Peugeot 405. 4th - Ford Mondeo. 3rd - Seat Leon. 1st - Alfa 156. 1st - TVR Tuscan.
• Dealerships and national traits. 27 May 2004 (Forum)
  It has struck me from experience and tales on the back room that Dealerships reflect the perceived national characteristics of the marque of car: For example Renault dealers: chic colours, strong coffee, happy to have children running about the place (and I dont mean the mechanics - or maybe I do), smoking permitted anywhere despite any rules, happy and charming to sell you, bare minimum of servicing done, long lunch hours, try and complain and they shrug and pretend not to speak english, The receptionists are always pretty and flirty.
• Climate Control 16 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  I would expect it to do this regardless of the outside temperature, the time of year and the length of the journey. I belive a previous Renault Safrane I had did exactly this. My current Volvo Needs to be turned up high in Winter, and low in summer. I have 'mentioned' this twice to the Volvo dealer, but it passes all of their tests. They suggest that I turn the temperature up at the begining of a journey to warm up the interior, and then turn it down when the desired temperature is acheived.
• New petrol types 23 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  I'm currently burning a load of BP Ultimate and after four days I can tell the following: 1. Funny smell when engine cold 2. Car (Renault Clio 1.4 16v) slightly more responsive 3. Apparently increased economy. No measuring yet, just that while driving the usual way, the fuel needle moves more slowly. What surprised me is that with plain Shell V-power (98 octane unleaded) my Clio was more responsive than with BP Ultimate!
• Automatic versus Automated Manual 16 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  The small Daihatsu automatics and the Yaris get good reviews. the 1.4 16v polo, Fabia, Lupo could also fit the bill. Which would you recommend? I take the hints and would avoid a Renault at all costs, due to problems with the auto boxes.
• Hiring a car in Spain? Get a Kangoo 15 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  Renault Kangoos are very under rated in this country I feel. Although I have never owned one, I did have one as a hire car once in Spain where they proliferate in agricultural areas, as many people will have noticed.
• MotorEasy extended warranty 26 Oct 2002 (Forum)
  Unsurprisingly, all exotica are excluded (including the Fiat Croma), and higher premiums are required for large BMWs, Jags/Daimlers, Land Rovers, Audi Quattros/Turbos/V8s, Alfa V6 and turbos, Renault 25 Turbo and Safrane, and the Rover 825 -- which I guess says something statistical about not only maintenance costs (Merc and Lexus are in the same bracket in that respect) but also reliability.
• Back pain re: VW seats! 21 Jan 2002 (Forum)
  Volkswagen just didn't want to know saying the seats were firm in all VW's. We are now selling the Polo back to Volkswagen on Tuesday. We are buying a second hand Renault Clio, we had one for seven years previously with no problems, what a mistake I made! I am aware of three other people that suffer back discomfort with VW seats, anyone else like to comment? Thank you Honest John, Gail Atkinson P.S.
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  I've found a solution to the Renault Clio II coil light fault associated with a stalling engine. 4 Sep 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I think I have cracked the problem related to the Renault Clio coil light coming on, followed by fluctuating revs and cutting out at junctions and when...
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  I found smoking oil on the back of my Renault Clio's engine. What could have caused this? 21 Aug 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I was driving my 2002 1.5 Renault Clio diesel (78,000 miles) the other day when the engine started to make a gurgling noise. I pulled over straightaway,...
• Dacia Duster - Parts problen 14 Oct 2023 (Forum)
  I have complained to the insurance company (Admiral) their response was sorry and here's 50 quid. I have complained to Renault and I had an enlightening conversation in which he said there isn't anything they can do. I suggested being compensated by Dacia for the three months I was paying the finance agreement and unable to use the vehicle.
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  What's the best small auto with plenty of electrics? 23 Sep 2020 (Ask HJ)
  Can you advise a small automatic car with sat nav? Budget is about £15,000.
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  What small automatic car do you recommend? 20 Jun 2019 (Ask HJ)
  My wife has a four year old Twingo which she likes very much but physical necessity means she needs to change to a used automatic that is not too much...
• Rover streetwise diesel - Rover 25 streetwise lack of power 2 Jan 2018 (Forum)
      Anyway the car has no power to it, it will cruise quite happily at 70mpg when it gets there. It is slow to accelerate and loses power on steep hills. A turbo diesel i had in the past a Renault megane, used to go like stink compared with this car.    No noises or anything nasty sounding, however just not enough go, are these engines just like this or does something need tweaking.
• vauxhaull vivaro 2005 - vivaro, problems with revving and running 8 Dec 2017 (Forum)
  the mechanic who did the work then took it to a friend of his who is breaking a 1.9dti renault laguna, and he has swapped every sensor on it, including air flow, egr, boost pressure, cam, crank, everything he could think of, he has also swapped the injectors, and it is still the same. when the glow plug/engine management comes on and is plugged into the computer, it shows no fauilts.
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  Is £600 a fair price to replace my air con condenser? 28 Nov 2017 (Ask HJ)
  I just bought a 2005 Honda Accord. I took it into a Honda dealership to check the air con as it wasn't working properly. They told me that the air conditioning...
• Citroen Berlingo - Convert car to van - what legalities need doing? 16 Mar 2015 (Forum)
  Looking to buy a cheap van for my new business, all vans within my budget are clapped out, well trashed and have travelled to the moon and back.  I've found the car version of the vans (e.g. Citroen Berlingo, Peugoet Partner, Renault Kangoo & Nissan Kubistar) I've been looking at are in much better condition for cheaper, so I'm thinking about converting a car to a van.  From what I see, I have to remove the back seats, render seatbelt anchors unusable, blank out the windows, and a few more jobs, and then get it inspected.
• Skoda Superb Estate, VW Passat Estate, - Diesel or Petrol Estate/MPV 14 Dec 2012 (Forum)
  Also , have a 1999 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDi, which regularly achives 45mpg in town on short trips and 60mpg+ on motorway and still going well at 162K+ miles and so will be keeping this. I am looking at Skoda Superb estate, VW Passat estate, Renault grand scenic and Citroen Belingo. I am wary of modern diesels because of known problems, but will a 26 mile daily commute solve these potential problems? I am looking to part ex the Fabia plus add up to £15k.
• Outstanding Finance Question 9 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  I've got what is probably a simple question to answer, but the Citroen dealer I went to was a bit unclear and all over the place! I have a Renault Laguna 1.9 dCi Privilege Estate. I've had it 2 years and bought it on a 48 month finance deal from Cars 4 Staff (Lloyds Car Select). I was just finishing Uni when I purchased the car, hence the small deposit and 4 year payments.